Trump campaign claims it pulled in whopping $18 million fundraising haul after debate

Donald Trump. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The Trump campaign said on Tuesday that it pulled in $18 million in new fundraising, fewer than 24 hours after the first general-election debate between Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

"As a result of Donald Trump's huge debate win [Monday] night, we had a massive fundraising day, bringing in more than $18 million," campaign finance chairman Steven Mnuchin, said in a statement Tuesday night.

Trump earlier in the day tweeted that his campaign had already taken in $13 million. "And we're still going," he added.

As recently as June, the Trump campaign had only $1.3 million in cash on hand. Trump has often boasted about running a lean operation compared to Clinton, whose campaign began the month of September with approximately $152 million cash on hand when combined with the campaign's joint accounts.

Trump's fundraising announcement also echoes the real-estate mogul's assertions that he won the first of what will be three general-election debates against Clinton. The match-ups are widely considered to be the most-anticipated presidential debates in modern history.